Tag: goldenvoice

Try describing Beats Antique to someone that hasn’t experienced them and you end up talking about a kaleidoscope of styles.
It’s Electronica, No! it’s Middle Eastern, wait, it’s Down-tempo, maybe Afro-Beat? There’s an amazing bellydancer and her team, there’s sometimes a crazy Marching Band, occasionally a wild explosion of live puppet dancers, jazz. What the hell is it?

Divine. Going to a Beats Antique concert is always an experience, kind of psychedelic, kinda dreamy…always fun.
If you want to get in on the action for FREE just give us your description of what describes their vibe onstage. Best four descriptions get free tickets for this Friday nights show on the 30th at the Club Nokia.
Do it now, cuz we have to make a decision and give these tickets away! Make sure when you sign in you leave us your email so we can contact you if you win (it’s not published!)

If you don’t win, you can buy tickets here.
Along with Beats Antique, Emancipator, Random Rab and Lynx are hitting the stage.
Beats Antique was formed by two rad musicians Tommy “Sidecar” Cappeland, David Satori and a hip-hop belly dancer named Zoe Jakes. Their performances defy description! But give it your best shot!

Photo by Burns! Image gets bigger with a click; the tiny guitar doesn't.

Bruce Cockburn is coming to the El Rey in Los Angeles next week in support of his 31st studio album, Small Source of Comfort. Thanks to our friends at Goldenvoice, Blogging.LA has your free tickets. Read on…

Cockburn is one of my favorite recording artists, but when I mention him friends are often unfamiliar. He has a pretty solid fan base here in the U.S., but north of the border, in his native Canada, Cockburn is a legend. In a career spanning four decades he has received 13 Junos (Canadian Grammys,) seven honorary doctorates, he’s in the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, and next month will be featured on a postage stamp issued by Canada Post.

Cockburn often tours solo, but this time out his deep, soulful lyrics and virtuoso guitar playing will be backed up by a full band. Opening the show will be violinist Jenny Scheinman, also featured on Small Source of Comfort. (Samples of the new album can be heard at that link, by the way.)

It seems Bruce Cockburn only passes through Los Angeles every few years, so don’t miss this rare opportunity to see a truly fantastic performance.

Want to join me at the El Rey next Tuesday night? I’ve got a few pairs of tickets for lucky B.LA readers. Just leave a note in the comments section below telling me why you want to see this show. Winners will be chosen at my whim and notified via email.

UPDATE: Einstürzende Neubauten’s 30th Anniversary U.S. tour has been canceled. From our friends at Goldenvoice:

“It is with great regret that Einstürzende Neubauten announce the cancellation of their planned thirtieth anniversary appearances in Los Angeles , San Francisco , Chicago , Toronto and New York . While the US Department of Homeland Security did issue approvals for the band’s visas, it was not done in time to secure the appointments at the overseas embassies and consulates that represent the necessary final step in the process.

The band members are tremendously disappointed by this turn of events and wish to thank all those fans who purchased tickets for these performances for their support. The band would have loved to do the tour and meet their overseas fans. Because this tour was a time-sensitive production, it will not be rescheduled. Ticketholders can obtain refunds from their point of purchase. ”

I expect you’re probably as disappointed as I am. Please direct your notes of appreciation for the Department of Homeland Security Theater keeping us safe from terrorists and German musicians to:

Someone with better Google-fu than mine can find Sec. Napolitano’s email address, but you can call her at: (202) 282-8000.

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For those that don’t read German, the title reads, “Win tickets for Einsturzende Neubauten!”

German experimental band Einstürzende Neubauten are celebrating their 30th anniversary. They’ll be bringing their show to Los Angeles next week, and Blogging.LA has your tickets.

In addition to regular concert performances, the band is playing a second date in each city along the tour. The first date will be a standard concert performance, while the second date will open with films and art installations, followed by a short concert presentation featuring material that has never been performed live before. Those second shows will finish with performances by the individual Einstürzende Neubauten members.

Thanks to our friends at Goldenvoice, Blogging.LA has your tickets to see Einstürzende Neubauten on December 1st at the Music Box. This will be their full concert performance. Want to join me at the Music Box? Just leave a note in the comments section below telling me why you want to see this show. The winner gets a pair of tickets for the December 1st concert at the Music Box in Hollywood.

Want to take chance out of the equation? You can buy tickets for the show here. The second date (films, rarities, solo shows) is happening the following night (December 2) at the EchoPlex.

Three Pairs of Tickets! OK Go at Club Nokia on Saturday, November 27th!

You probably know OK Go for their sensational music videos. The band is seriously much more than just their videos and they put on a really energetic, fun live show. I just went to their concert at UCSB this past weekend and it was a blast!

An OK Go show is never just four guys on stage playing their songs. There’s confetti, LOTS of confetti, 3-D glasses, and several more fun surprises. Not to mention the solid musical performance they give. So much fun!

YOU MUST ACT NOW! The first three (3) people to comment will win a pair of tickets. OK Go will be performing at Club Nokia on Saturday, November 27th with A Fine Frenzy and Summer Darling. This is a show not to be missed, so comment now!

And just because it’s super fun, check out OK Go’s video for their song “White Knuckles.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHlJODYBLKs[/youtube]

Special thanks to Goldenvoice for making this ticket giveaway possible.

Los Angeles, I know you’ve said it before. “I like all kinds of music. Well, except for hardcore Scandinavian death-metal/polka mash-ups and, ugh…country.” I know you’ve said it, because I said it myself. Then, when I wasn’t looking, I started liking a little country music. Then a lot. At first I thought it was what some would call a “guilty pleasure,” but then I realized I didn’t feel all that guilty about it. It turns out, I like a little twang in my tunes.

Truth be told, up until a few months ago, I really didn’t know much about Vince Gill. I bought tickets for the Fourth of July fireworks spectacular at the Hollywood Bowl, and it just happened that Gill was the featured artist that night with the Hollywood Bowl orchestra. I became a fast fan, though. Vince Gill is a pretty darn good guitar player, and one hell of a songwriter. It was a great show. Hence my excitement about seeing him this week at a much more intimate venue like Club Nokia.

Thanks to our friends at Goldenvoice, I’m able to offer you an opportunity to see Vince Gill, too.

What: Vince Gill in concert.When: Friday, 22 October 2010. 8:00pm.Where: Club Nokia, at the LA Live complex. Downtown Los Angeles.

I’ve got several pairs of tickets for lucky Blogging.LA readers. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me you want to go to the show, and what your guilty pleasure is, whether country music or whatever else.

Don’t want to take a chance on winning tickets? You can buy tickets online here.

Enter now, and I’ll see you there Friday night. I’ll be the guy in the cowboy boots and Pølka Dêthmöngerz t-shirt.

When I first heard Sleigh Bells‘ single, “Crown On The Ground,” on pitchfork, I was beset by equal parts revulsion and amazement. Squelching, overpowering guitars rattling out a stattaco, distorted-into-the-red rhythmic melody, accompanied by flattened vocals that provided more of a melodic layer than the guitars themselves–as if the vocals were a synth texture–was almost unlistenable, with producer Derek Miller utilizing the blown-out-speakers sound as a defining feature of the duo’s sound.

But it was unlistenable in that bracing, so-intense-it-hurts kind of way, the way I love that first ice-cold sip of Diet Coke because it hurts so good going down my throat. Sleigh Bells make your ears bleed, in an irresistible way. Alexis Krauss belts out anthems like a raver-cheerleader, her one-note vocals providing additional audio textures, as if Derek is using her voice as yet another layer of instrumentation.

Sleigh Bells are fucking amazing.

I’m really excited about this show, and apparently everyone else in LA is too, because it’s SOLD OUT. So blogging.la is now one of the only ways to score tix.

Wanna win your way into the show? Leave a comment telling me what you thought the first time you heard Sleigh Bells. We’ll pick one lucky winner to get a pair of tix to the show.

I’ve seen Michael Franti in concert once before and he blew me away. You can see him this Wednesday night cuz we’re giving away four pairs of tickets to his performance at Club Nokia on September 22nd. His music, a blend of reggae, hip-hop, jazz and rock blends so many genres, that it emerges as a style all his own.

His performance has so much energy, that you end up dancing, moving and just in general having a great time. While he’s known for his ballads on peace and freedom, he also has a style that is just down with feeling good.

If you want to win tickets, just give us your version of why Michael wears no shoes! If you don’t win… just go here to nab a ticket… it’s well worth it!

In early April we sent some MetBlogs readers to see The Dan Band. Here is what a couple of them had to say:

“This band is best when encountered as a surprise. Obviously, going to see them live, the primary novelty of the band is no longer a surprise, but, fortunately for me, there were still plenty of hilarious surprises in the live setlist.” ~Riki Ataki

“We had such a good time! Dan caught a woman texting during the show and took away her phone to send rude replies.” ~FlowerOfHighRank

I’ve got several pairs of tickets for next Friday’s show, so to win, leave a comment below telling me why you need to see The Dan Band live. Winners to be notified by email, so make sure I’ve got your correct address. Don’t want to take a chance? You can buy tickets here. A word of advice: guard your cell phones; Dan can be filthy when texting your friends.

We have tix to your choice of two, count ’em TWO, nights this weekend when local heroes Ozomatli take the stage at Club Nokia (show info here).

I’ve seen these guys play in scads of formats: as a secret surprise guest on a benefit bill for a pirate radio station, on the veranda of a swanky 27th-floor penthouse overlooking the Staples Center, and from the floor of a couple local venues, but that variety can’t beat with a stick the diversity of places Ozomatli has been over the last year: they traveled extensively through Africa, Nepal and the Middle East as official cultural ambassadors of the United States. Neat!

Every freakin’ show they play is dynamite. You will dance your ass off. To win tickets to go, tell me which night you’re available (they play both Fri & Sat) and place a link in the comments to your favorite dance on youtube. It can be classic Argentinean tango, “The Evolution Of Dance,” 70s Jazzercise or something even more desperate and horrifying*. But just let go & DANCE! Oh, and please use an email I can actually reach you at, and that you actually check.

*Excerpts from Dancing With The Stars will result in immediate disqualification

The buzz on this Scottish band is no joke. Pair ’em with Norwegian rockette Ida Maria, whose complete lack of rock star airs is utterly refreshing, and this is a kickass show. With a Mercury “Album of the Year” prize under their belts, Glasvegas’ anthemic songs balance jangly, bouncy pop driven by an energetic rhythm section, and a top note of expansive, layered effects-laden guitars that call to mind The Cure (when happy), U2 or, dare I say it, Coldplay. But they’re good.

Wanna go? Make up a city name out of two of your favorite cities (a la “Glasvegas”) and post it in the comments. We’ll randomly pick a lucky winner to check out the show at the Fonda.

Darby’s dead, but the Germs are not. With Shane West–the actor whose tour-de-force performance in 2007’s Germs biopic “What We Do Is Secret” brought Darby to life on the silver screen–now singing in Crash’s place, Pat Smear, Lorna Doom & Don “It’s Just Dr. Bronners” Bolles are bringing their snarling punk rodeo back to the stage.

I had always heard of the Old 97’s, but I’d never heard them. Until one of the guys in my building, who did a lot of work with indie labels, was let go, and his massive collection of promo cd’s was left behind.

The collection was raided by our entire office, picked and pawed through, but I grabbed the “Hit by a Train: Best of the Old 97’s” cd. I popped it in while driving home. With the first rippling, enormously satisfying chord, my jaw hit the steering wheel. By the first keening, lonely guitar solo, I was utterly sold. How could I have missed these guys while I played my Whiskeytown & Cracker cds down to the nibs? Oh well.

Now you can win a pair of tickets to this show, but you gotta tell me how YOU discovered the Old 97’s, and I hope it has more cred than my story. We’ll pick a random winner. Info on the show is here.

See, I only have one pair of tickets to give away for The Hold Steady next Tuesday. If I had two pairs, or even three, I could use one for myself. But I only have one. So I have to give it to you people.

Photo by Marina Chavez

The Hold Steady is one of my favorite bands. Introduced to me by a bartender friend (quelle surprise), at first they rubbed me the wrong way. What the HELL is up with him shouting over the songs?

Then I listened to what he was saying, and the lyrics melted into the music and became the sound of the rust belt rocking the night away in dim bars, the sound of hell-bent tours to crappy clubs around the country, the heir to Kerouac, to Springsteen. The piano made me think of the Mississippi River.

So, you jerks, tell me your favorite thing about The Hold Steady. Or your favorite story about them. One lucky winner, who will not be me, will get to go to the show.

I saw Peaches a few years ago on one of those electroclash tours. She came out wearing a long, blond wig & stripper heels, and the crowd, somewhat nonplussed, not for sure it was her, went into paroxysms when midway through a synth intro line she ripped off the wig & shook out her brown curls with a sneer.

Peaches is not a show to be missed. Plus former LA Metblogs author & Buddyhead creator Travis Keller will be DJing there.

Wanna win tickets? Don’t be shy. Tell me your favorite Peaches lyric in the comments. And if they don’t get past our obscenity filters, I’ll make sure to unmoderate them so you all can see those nasty, nasty lyrics.

Info on the show is here. FYI, she plays two shows: one on the 6th, a 2nd on the 7th. These tickets are for the second date, Sunday.